Jonathan Rauch, Brookings Institute senior fellow and author of The Constitution of Knowledge, is a liberal who’s concerned about free speech. In this excerpt from our recent conversation, he discusses the history of canceling of gay people in America and argues that fighting harmful ideas with evidence and winning arguments is the way to bring about change.
I admit that I am equally shocked and dismayed that so many people seem to think that silencing and canceling is an intelligent approach to disagreement. I am tempted to conclude that this is due to a generation of "got a trophy for competing" folks, but that is, frankly, too simplistic and a bit condescending as well. As Jonathan implied, it is impossible to "win" the battle of ideas by silencing your combatants. You must meet them on the field and defeat them openly and in plain view.
Whites are sowing the seeds of their own destruction by wielding power in the wrong way...not really seriously looking for answers to their self-destruction...shifting their bad behavior on someone else. Lies serves purpose... keeps them from accepting responsibility...
Dixiecrats switched to the GOP because they were vehemently opposed to civil rights for blacks. I live in the deep South and white Republicans now fly the Confederate flag.Your logical fallacies? The current GOP is the Trump party. White extremists like Richard Spencer, Jared Taylor, David Duke, etc. were thrilled to death after Trump was elected president. I used to rescue naive proud boys from Aryan Brother hood prison gang rape.
If anybody accepts The broad-based logical tenets your son is professing then we are doomed. People are allowed to have disagreements but there is no need to be disagreeable or aggressive with one another. Your son can do whatever he wants, other people can think whatever they want about it. Whatever somebody might choose to believe or not believe based upon what another person thinks about them is foolish. People need to stand up and be strong and accept that others acceptance or rejection of their life it's not hate it's just a difference of opinions.
If you're going to be bold and daring in life you need to have courage of your convictions and stand your ground. Forcing everybody to accept you, to love you, to support you, or to seek to cancel those that do not, is a Fool's errand and makes those who could choose to be strong weaker than they ever would have been otherwise.
I have to say that it seems that Glenn, usually reliant on data and evidence (n > 30 samples) is very reliant on anecdotes about his son here. I'm a Catholic. What our catechism is accused of saying here, it says. I stand by it and by the Church. That doesn't mean that I'm going to accost anyone, or that anyone is going to kill themselves now that the CCC says what it says, or that Catholics believing what we believe is really even wrong. It can be thought wrong here in a secular context, but that's not the end of the argument. I like the pluralistic argument put forth by Mr. Rausch, and I think many, many of us religious traditionalists were ready to make this accommodation in the culture with our LGBT fellow citizens until Big Business and Government got involved and started to make LGBT matters a moral litmus test for the people of this country. We have to dissent and disagree vehemently with each other, and that has to be OK, or this whole thing, this whole enterprise is over. Glenn Loury should take a moment and understand Christian and Catholic anthropology before simply falling back on anecdote and emotion.
White racist democrats created their own group in 1948 called the Dixiecrats. Dixiecrats were staunch segregationists and didn't support Civil Rights for Blacks. These Dixiecrats eventually switched over to the Republican Party. The late South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond (R), a devout segregationist, switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party because he didn't support the passing of Civil Rights legislation for Blacks. Late Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater (R), a staunch conservative and who ran against LBJ (D) for president, was adamantly against the passage of the 1960s Civil Rights Legislation. Many Black Republicans then switched over to the Democratic Party. Civil rights were the major reason white racist democrats (Dixiecrats) switched to the Republican Party. President Truman, a Democrat, was actually responsible for desegregating the armed forces in 1948, at which time white racists defected from the Democratic Party to create the Dixiecrats who eventually became far right-wing Republicans with anti-black views. LBJ twisted arms of white politicians and eventually signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1965 Voting Rights Law, and Equal Housing in 1968. The old radical Republicans who created Reconstruction and the Freedman Bureau for Blacks after the end of the Civil War are certainly not the same radical Republicans we have today. Today's Republican Party: THE SOUTHERN STRATEGY. --- "You start out in 1954 by saying, “Ni**er, n**er, ni**er.” By 1968, you can’t say “ni**er”—that hurts you, backfires.
So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and byproduct of them is, blacks get hurt worse than whites.… “We want to cut this,” is much Part III: more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more abstract than “Ni**er, ni**er.” -- Lee Altwater, GOP STRATEGIST."
“Riley Gaines 'ambushed and physically hit' after Saving Women's Sports speech at San Francisco State”. This was reported yesterday and she says she was hit by a “man in a dress “. The audacity of her to misgender! This is why we need free speech for some on campus but obviously can not allow Catholics and TERFs to voice their opinions. The man in the dress who hit her is the victim here because words are violence to her ears.
Tuesday night was held what is probably the first-ever public, open, debate on Diversity-Equity-Inclusion (DEI) on a U.S. college campus. The Adam Smith Society and the MIT Free Speech Alliance are delighted. We sponsored this to show that polite but strong disagreement on hot-button political issues could be openly expressed at an American university--- and MIT, in particular. No police were present, not threats were made, and the debate and audience questioning proceeded respectfully--- though not because the debaters didn’t stake out their positions in very strong and opposing terms. Our press release is up on the web at https://www.mitfreespeech.org/press-releases-and-press-information.
I was speaking to the argument of LGBT freedom-hate speech has been around since the first uttered human words. If you listen Rausch actually says exactly what you post- we all have the right to self expression even if offensive to others. No "creation of lists" as you post.
His so-called "argument" is as old as classical liberalism, which is better represented by today's right than the left. He is only restating what we already knew 300 years ago.
But Marxists don't care. The whole point of left wing totalitarianism is restriction of individual liberty, including speech, all under the banner of the common good.
History is repeating itself now because of the changing demographics in this country. Ultra white conservatives are setting up sandbags to consolidate their raw power in the red states. Whites will be the new majority -minority population by 2043. Metro areas in the South (mostly minorities) are becoming increasingly powerful. However, red states are taking over local authority. Red states want to replace the feds authority in managing civil rights, etc.. Remnants of the old Confederacy are alive and well (states rights). That old script led to the 1st American Civil War. Are we approaching that point again with the very deep division in this country? Over 400 million firearms are out there.
This may come off as splitting hairs to some but specifically what the Catholic Church considers to be disordered are homosexual acts. Merely experiencing same-sex attraction is not considered to be sinful according to the CC.
The only hate is coming from the left in the form of censoring views on campus, defunding the police, looting, rioting, voter fraud, forcing religious groups to provide abortion and recognize gay marriage, refusal to crack down on immigration, threatening justices of the court. A real libertarian supports religious freedom. You are a demented, bigot leftist. I lost relatives in the holocaust. Do not talk to me about religious bigotry. Gays are some of the most intolerant people I know. I am also a gay man but they do not speak for me
I admit that I am equally shocked and dismayed that so many people seem to think that silencing and canceling is an intelligent approach to disagreement. I am tempted to conclude that this is due to a generation of "got a trophy for competing" folks, but that is, frankly, too simplistic and a bit condescending as well. As Jonathan implied, it is impossible to "win" the battle of ideas by silencing your combatants. You must meet them on the field and defeat them openly and in plain view.
it’s one source of information but if you drive looking in the rearview mirror, how do you know what’s in front of you? Is the point
Whites are sowing the seeds of their own destruction by wielding power in the wrong way...not really seriously looking for answers to their self-destruction...shifting their bad behavior on someone else. Lies serves purpose... keeps them from accepting responsibility...
Dixiecrats switched to the GOP because they were vehemently opposed to civil rights for blacks. I live in the deep South and white Republicans now fly the Confederate flag.Your logical fallacies? The current GOP is the Trump party. White extremists like Richard Spencer, Jared Taylor, David Duke, etc. were thrilled to death after Trump was elected president. I used to rescue naive proud boys from Aryan Brother hood prison gang rape.
If anybody accepts The broad-based logical tenets your son is professing then we are doomed. People are allowed to have disagreements but there is no need to be disagreeable or aggressive with one another. Your son can do whatever he wants, other people can think whatever they want about it. Whatever somebody might choose to believe or not believe based upon what another person thinks about them is foolish. People need to stand up and be strong and accept that others acceptance or rejection of their life it's not hate it's just a difference of opinions.
If you're going to be bold and daring in life you need to have courage of your convictions and stand your ground. Forcing everybody to accept you, to love you, to support you, or to seek to cancel those that do not, is a Fool's errand and makes those who could choose to be strong weaker than they ever would have been otherwise.
I have to say that it seems that Glenn, usually reliant on data and evidence (n > 30 samples) is very reliant on anecdotes about his son here. I'm a Catholic. What our catechism is accused of saying here, it says. I stand by it and by the Church. That doesn't mean that I'm going to accost anyone, or that anyone is going to kill themselves now that the CCC says what it says, or that Catholics believing what we believe is really even wrong. It can be thought wrong here in a secular context, but that's not the end of the argument. I like the pluralistic argument put forth by Mr. Rausch, and I think many, many of us religious traditionalists were ready to make this accommodation in the culture with our LGBT fellow citizens until Big Business and Government got involved and started to make LGBT matters a moral litmus test for the people of this country. We have to dissent and disagree vehemently with each other, and that has to be OK, or this whole thing, this whole enterprise is over. Glenn Loury should take a moment and understand Christian and Catholic anthropology before simply falling back on anecdote and emotion.
White racist democrats created their own group in 1948 called the Dixiecrats. Dixiecrats were staunch segregationists and didn't support Civil Rights for Blacks. These Dixiecrats eventually switched over to the Republican Party. The late South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond (R), a devout segregationist, switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party because he didn't support the passing of Civil Rights legislation for Blacks. Late Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater (R), a staunch conservative and who ran against LBJ (D) for president, was adamantly against the passage of the 1960s Civil Rights Legislation. Many Black Republicans then switched over to the Democratic Party. Civil rights were the major reason white racist democrats (Dixiecrats) switched to the Republican Party. President Truman, a Democrat, was actually responsible for desegregating the armed forces in 1948, at which time white racists defected from the Democratic Party to create the Dixiecrats who eventually became far right-wing Republicans with anti-black views. LBJ twisted arms of white politicians and eventually signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1965 Voting Rights Law, and Equal Housing in 1968. The old radical Republicans who created Reconstruction and the Freedman Bureau for Blacks after the end of the Civil War are certainly not the same radical Republicans we have today. Today's Republican Party: THE SOUTHERN STRATEGY. --- "You start out in 1954 by saying, “Ni**er, n**er, ni**er.” By 1968, you can’t say “ni**er”—that hurts you, backfires.
So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and byproduct of them is, blacks get hurt worse than whites.… “We want to cut this,” is much Part III: more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more abstract than “Ni**er, ni**er.” -- Lee Altwater, GOP STRATEGIST."
“Riley Gaines 'ambushed and physically hit' after Saving Women's Sports speech at San Francisco State”. This was reported yesterday and she says she was hit by a “man in a dress “. The audacity of her to misgender! This is why we need free speech for some on campus but obviously can not allow Catholics and TERFs to voice their opinions. The man in the dress who hit her is the victim here because words are violence to her ears.
Tuesday night was held what is probably the first-ever public, open, debate on Diversity-Equity-Inclusion (DEI) on a U.S. college campus. The Adam Smith Society and the MIT Free Speech Alliance are delighted. We sponsored this to show that polite but strong disagreement on hot-button political issues could be openly expressed at an American university--- and MIT, in particular. No police were present, not threats were made, and the debate and audience questioning proceeded respectfully--- though not because the debaters didn’t stake out their positions in very strong and opposing terms. Our press release is up on the web at https://www.mitfreespeech.org/press-releases-and-press-information.
I was speaking to the argument of LGBT freedom-hate speech has been around since the first uttered human words. If you listen Rausch actually says exactly what you post- we all have the right to self expression even if offensive to others. No "creation of lists" as you post.
This is a very good argument and defense by Rauch. Many would do well to listen- a quality in sparse supply these days.
His so-called "argument" is as old as classical liberalism, which is better represented by today's right than the left. He is only restating what we already knew 300 years ago.
But Marxists don't care. The whole point of left wing totalitarianism is restriction of individual liberty, including speech, all under the banner of the common good.
History is repeating itself now because of the changing demographics in this country. Ultra white conservatives are setting up sandbags to consolidate their raw power in the red states. Whites will be the new majority -minority population by 2043. Metro areas in the South (mostly minorities) are becoming increasingly powerful. However, red states are taking over local authority. Red states want to replace the feds authority in managing civil rights, etc.. Remnants of the old Confederacy are alive and well (states rights). That old script led to the 1st American Civil War. Are we approaching that point again with the very deep division in this country? Over 400 million firearms are out there.
This may come off as splitting hairs to some but specifically what the Catholic Church considers to be disordered are homosexual acts. Merely experiencing same-sex attraction is not considered to be sinful according to the CC.
Does anyone else think that the last part of this video undermines everything he said before it? Kind of disappointed in Rauch for including that.
The only hate is coming from the left in the form of censoring views on campus, defunding the police, looting, rioting, voter fraud, forcing religious groups to provide abortion and recognize gay marriage, refusal to crack down on immigration, threatening justices of the court. A real libertarian supports religious freedom. You are a demented, bigot leftist. I lost relatives in the holocaust. Do not talk to me about religious bigotry. Gays are some of the most intolerant people I know. I am also a gay man but they do not speak for me